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Israel Pessimistic about Ceasefire Deal with Lebanon

Damage caused by Israeli raids in Lebanon. (AP)
Damage caused by Israeli raids in Lebanon. (AP)
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Israel Pessimistic about Ceasefire Deal with Lebanon

Damage caused by Israeli raids in Lebanon. (AP)
Damage caused by Israeli raids in Lebanon. (AP)

The United States' special envoy for the Middle East, Amos Hochstein, decided to extend his visit to Beirut until Wednesday, political sources in Tel Aviv said. The envoy, who was expected in Israel on Wednesday morning, will arrive there by Thursday at the latest.

Despite the positive signals from Washington about Hochstein’s visit to the Lebanese capital, Israelis cast doubt on the likelihood that a deal could be reached to end the war on Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The sources said US officials are very serious about reaching a possible ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war. “Coordination is ongoing between the administration of President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump, who are both determined to end the war,” the sources stressed.

As evidence, they said, Washington has decided to place a US general at the head of a military technical committee tasked to achieve the total deployment of the Lebanese army in southern Lebanon.

However, Israel is skeptical. It believes Hezbollah is maneuvering and will not accept the Israeli terms of the US proposal.

The sources said the Israeli army is indirectly taking part in the Hochstein-led negotiations by exerting pressure on Lebanon and intensifying its attacks on the capital, not just its southern suburbs where Hezbollah has a strong presence, as well as the South and eastern Bekaa region.

Former head of Israeli Defense Intelligence Professor Amos Yadlin, who held a meeting with Hochstein recently, revealed that the ceasefire agreement with Lebanon is making great progress.

He said a deal could be announced this weekend. “The most important thing is that the agreement between Israel and Washington on the US guarantees is ready. If an agreement is reached in Beirut on those guarantees, a ceasefire deal will be signed and put into effect,” Yadlin said.

Biden sent a message to Israel that the US administration will not only serve as a guarantor to Israel, but it has also given it legitimacy in its right to self-defense, he revealed.

“In Washington, they agree with us that Israel has cancelled its known MABAM doctrine (the ‘war between the wars’), and is now ready to wage a war whenever it is attacked. Hochstein and other mutual friends of Israel and Lebanon have made this clear, but this policy has to be understood in Lebanon, Syria and Iran,” he added.

Meanwhile, the majority of officials close to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remain pessimistic about reaching a ceasefire deal with Lebanon.

The right-wing newspaper Israel Hayom quoted an Israeli political source as saying that “an agreement is not likely to be reached in the near future.”

Instead, it said, the Israeli military has approved plans to attack the southern suburbs of Beirut, carry out assassinations wherever possible, even in the majority-Christian part of east Beirut and continue to target Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon.

On Tuesday, Bezalel Smotrich, the far-right minister of finance, said, “We will not agree to any arrangement that is not worth the paper it is written on.”

Addressing the ceasefire efforts, Netanyahu told a Knesset meeting that “the important thing is not the piece of paper.”

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Arab World

In the West Bank, Israeli Settlers Take Over Palestinian’s Dream Home

An Israeli settler sits on the roof of the Palestinian Salameh family house, which was taken over by Israeli settlers in the village of Jalud in the Israeli-occupied West Bank July 2, 2026. (Reuters)
An Israeli settler sits on the roof of the Palestinian Salameh family house, which was taken over by Israeli settlers in the village of Jalud in the Israeli-occupied West Bank July 2, 2026. (Reuters)
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In the West Bank, Israeli Settlers Take Over Palestinian’s Dream Home

An Israeli settler sits on the roof of the Palestinian Salameh family house, which was taken over by Israeli settlers in the village of Jalud in the Israeli-occupied West Bank July 2, 2026. (Reuters)
An Israeli settler sits on the roof of the Palestinian Salameh family house, which was taken over by Israeli settlers in the village of Jalud in the Israeli-occupied West Bank July 2, 2026. (Reuters)

Palestinian Mohammad Salameh was building a home for his family in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where his recently engaged son was meant to start married life. Instead, before construction was complete, a group of Israeli settlers seized the property.

Video filmed earlier in the week and verified by Reuters showed at least six settlers moving around on the roof of the two-storey house, which sits below a nearby hill.

Salameh said appeals to the Israeli military and police brought no help.

Now he fears his home, which like many others in the Palestinian territory is surrounded by Israeli settlements and smaller outposts, is lost forever.

Other houses in the area could suffer the same fate, ‌he said.

"Only God ‌knows, if there is law and order then they will leave," Salameh ‌said. "If ⁠they succeeded with ⁠taking one, then the rest will follow."

Reuters was unable to reach the settlers for comment. One of them could be seen walking on the house's roof on Thursday.

The Israeli military said it was checking Reuters' request for comment, but had not responded by Friday. The Israeli police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Jewish settlement of Shilo in the Israeli-occupied West Bank as seen from the Palestinian village of Jalud July 2, 2026. (Reuters)

SETTLEMENTS, SETTLER ATTACKS WIDEN UNDER NETANYAHU GOVERNMENT

The seizure of Palestinian land by settlers is a longstanding feature of life in the West Bank, where about 500,000 ⁠Israelis live among roughly 3 million Palestinians.

Palestinians have for years reported damage ‌to farmland, vandalism and attacks linked to settlement expansion.

A ‌UN inquiry reported last month that Israeli settler attacks on Palestinian villages and agricultural land had surged since 2023, ‌rising by 130%.

Residents of Jalud, Salameh's village, say this week's incident marks another troubling escalation ‌because the settlers seized a house that was still under construction.

"They have now moved down to within no more than 100 meters from the last house in Jalud, which is also a house under construction belonging to a resident," said Raed al-Haj Mohammad, head of the village council.

Jalud has faced five major settler ‌attacks, he said, including the burning of homes, damage to vehicles and the uprooting of trees.

Most countries and the United Nations regard Israeli ⁠settlements in the West Bank ⁠as illegal under international law, citing the Fourth Geneva Convention's prohibition on transferring a civilian population into occupied territory.

Israel rejects that position, saying the West Bank is disputed territory where there has been a Jewish presence for thousands of years.

Palestinians consider the West Bank, together with Gaza and East Jerusalem, as part of a Palestinian state.

Settlement building and settler violence have long been among the biggest obstacles to peace efforts between Israel and the Palestinians.

Even Israel's staunchest allies, including the United States, have condemned settler actions.

Nevertheless, settlement expansion has accelerated under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, which relies on hardline pro-settlement parties to maintain its parliamentary majority.

For Salameh, the dispute is painfully personal.

Construction on the house stalled after the Gaza war erupted in 2023, when his son could not find work and the family's finances came under strain.

"The neighbor close by has built a two-story house, which they will probably take too, if we lose this house (his) they will lose theirs," he said.

Arab World

Drone-Making Equipment Bound for Houthis Seized in Bab el-Mandeb

The boat was transporting equipment used to manufacture drones and explosive-laden boats (Giants Forces) 
The boat was transporting equipment used to manufacture drones and explosive-laden boats (Giants Forces) 
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Drone-Making Equipment Bound for Houthis Seized in Bab el-Mandeb

The boat was transporting equipment used to manufacture drones and explosive-laden boats (Giants Forces) 
The boat was transporting equipment used to manufacture drones and explosive-laden boats (Giants Forces) 

Yemen’s Southern Giants Brigades announced they had intercepted a boat carrying equipment allegedly intended for manufacturing Houthi drones and explosive-laden boats as it attempted to reach the Red Sea coast of Hodeidah province, home to ports controlled by the Iran-backed group.

According to the forces, the seized cargo included equipment used in the production and operation of drones and suicide boats, including a hydraulic drilling machine, servers, electronic control chips, GPS devices for target guidance, engines, and other specialized components.

The interception took place Monday evening following an intelligence-led surveillance operation. Three sailors allegedly affiliated with the Houthis were arrested aboard the vessel, which was reportedly transporting equipment intended for manufacturing drones used in the group’s attacks.

Col. Adel al-Mahwali, head of operations for the 17th Giants Brigade, said the operation reflected the forces’ “high level of vigilance.” He added that all seized materials had been secured and that legal procedures were underway.

Al-Mahwali revealed that the operation was part of the Giants Forces’ broader efforts to secure Yemen’s coastline and vital shipping lanes, in line with directives from Presidential Leadership Council member and Southern Armed Forces commander Abdul Rahman Al-Mahrami, widely known as Abu Zaraa, who has made combating smuggling a priority.

Al-Mahrami, for his part, praised the operation and called for intensified efforts to combat smuggling, tighten oversight of Houthi supply routes, and prevent the trafficking of weapons and equipment that, he said, threaten Yemen’s security and regional stability.

Information Minister Muammar al-Eryani also welcomed what he described as a significant security success, saying the interception demonstrated a high level of professionalism, readiness, and vigilance in protecting Yemen’s coastline and maritime corridors, according to the official Saba News Agency.

Al-Eryani said the seizure provided fresh evidence that Iran continues to supply the Houthis with advanced weapons and military components in violation of UN Security Council resolutions and the arms embargo imposed on the group. He stressed that the interception underscored Tehran’s continued use of the Houthis to advance its regional agenda and threaten Yemen’s security, regional stability, and international shipping.

Arab World

What Is Behind Claims of RSF Training Camps in Libya?

Military vehicles belonging to the Libyan “National Army” in the south last March. (General Staff)
Military vehicles belonging to the Libyan “National Army” in the south last March. (General Staff)
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What Is Behind Claims of RSF Training Camps in Libya?

Military vehicles belonging to the Libyan “National Army” in the south last March. (General Staff)
Military vehicles belonging to the Libyan “National Army” in the south last March. (General Staff)

Talk of ties between Libya's "National Army," led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, and Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has resurfaced following fresh allegations that RSF fighters are being trained at camps inside Libya.

The army's General Command rejected the allegations, describing them as "part of a campaign aimed at tarnishing its image."

A senior Libyan military source on Thursday also denied foreign media reports of RSF training camps in Libya, telling Asharq Al-Awsat that the claims were "baseless."

The source, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of his position, said the report was “an attempt to cloud the security stability achieved in eastern and southern Libya ... This is false propaganda the General Command has faced for years, especially since the outbreak of the war in Sudan.”

Libyan lawmaker Ali al-Soul, a member of parliament’s National Security Committee, echoed the denial, saying reports of RSF camps on Libyan territory were “nothing more than media lies unsupported by any facts on the ground.”

Al-Soul told Asharq Al-Awsat that “Libya does not interfere in the internal affairs of neighboring countries, and has not and will not fuel any conflicts there.”

“There are no foreign forces from neighboring countries witnessing conflicts, especially Sudan, inside Libyan territory,” adding that Libya acts only through “good offices to calm tensions and protect its national security,” he said.

The Libyan lawmaker said the “National Army” was “doing its duty to protect the country’s sovereignty, borders and resources, fighting smuggling gangs with the available means, and respecting the sovereignty of other states by not backing one side against another.”

Recent reports said southern and eastern Libya host a logistical hub for training RSF fighters, identifying four training camps in areas under the control of the “National Army.”

They include “Camp 17” near Benghazi, where fighters are trained to operate drones and heavy weapons, according to analysis of satellite images and open-source videos.

The reports drew on an investigation by the Dutch organization Lighthouse Reports, in cooperation with Sudan War Monitor and Evident Media, a group specializing in visual investigations.

People close to the “National Army” see the accusations through a different lens, linking them to Libya’s political situation and active international efforts to resolve the crisis, as the country remains divided politically and militarily more than a decade on.

Libyan political analyst Ayoub al-Awjali said the timing of the accusations was “not innocent.”

He told Asharq Al-Awsat they “coincide with the US initiative led by US presidential adviser Massad Boulos on the Libya file,” suggesting they may be part of attempts to “shuffle the political cards and influence the course of ongoing understandings.”

Libya’s political scene is currently focused on an initiative attributed to Boulos that would see Saddam Haftar, deputy commander of the “National Army,” take over the Presidential Council, while the interim Government of National Unity's Prime Minister, Abdulhamid Dbeibah, would remain in a senior role at the head of a unified government.

Al-Awjali did not rule out “efforts by some international parties involved in the Libyan crisis to use such accusations to achieve political gains or reshape the scene in ways that serve their interests, given the advanced steps made by the Boulos initiative.”

He expected “new accusations and attempts” to use various crisis cards in the next phase.

The “National Army” maintains that it has no involvement in Sudan’s conflict, saying its mission is limited to protecting the southern border and preventing threats to Libyan security.

Chief of the General Staff Lieutenant General Khaled Haftar previously made the same point in a televised interview, saying: “The conflict in Sudan is an internal matter in which we do not interfere. Our role is limited to securing Libya’s borders with neighboring countries.”

The parliament-appointed government and Libya’s House of Representatives have also said the same.

Sudan’s representative to the UN Security Council, Al-Harith Idris, had accused Libya’s “National Army” of providing logistical support to the RSF.

In a briefing to the Security Council last month, he said the Subul al-Salam Battalion, based in Kufra, was transferring ammunition and mortar rounds from the warehouses of the 106th Brigade to the RSF.

In December, Reuters reported that an airstrip at Kufra airport in southeastern Libya had been used as a logistical platform to support military operations linked to El Fasher, an allegation the “National Army” denied.